Hollow Point
by Neiroe
Summary: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object? Homura wasn't sure, but she heard one of them would have to give. She was certain, though, that it wouldn't be her. When she entered into this timeline, she hadn't planned on teaching anyone to use a weapon she barely handled, but as it stood, that was the only way Sayaka would survive to fight the Walpurgisnacht.
1. Chapter One

The wind was strong that day. A young Homura stood at the high roof of the hospital and took a small joy in the way her hair fanned out with the breeze. A good sign, surely. This was going to be It. The One. She ran down the checklist in her head one more time.

She was going to:

1a. Stop Madoka from contracting.

1b. Stop Sayaka from contracting.

2\. Save Mami from The Worm.

3\. Maybe get Kyoko's help. (Kyoko might not want to help.)

A solid lineup indeed. Not in order, but she knew the first step to stopping Madoka from contracting, was to stop Sayaka from contracting. In at least 11 of the 20 timelines she'd seen (give or take), if neither of them had contracted before she arrived, Sayaka would contract after Mami died. So, she would have to save Mami from The Worm witch to protect Madoka. And because Mami was her friend, of course.

The first step to saving Mami from The Worm was... tting weapons . Homura never liked stealing things, but understood the necessity of it nonetheless. A small chirp broke her from her thoughts, and Homura realized her watch was telling her that she had spent all of her "free time" for that day. Only five minutes, but when you aren't paying attention, time will fly fast.

Speaking of time...

And with a hollow click, the world turned grey. Homura came down the stairs at a trot. The station wasn't that far off, and if she started running now, she should be there within the hour. An hour in real time, at least.

Needing as much of her power left over as possible, Homura started time anew as she exited the lobby. No use over exerting herself. She had them marked down as police stations, but there were actually several stops to make, and only one of them was actually a police force. The first stop, the closest to the hospital, would be Shafuto Industries. In an area of town that would have given a much younger Homura great pause, a tall building stood. Grey and brutalist, with a simple white banner on the front announcing the name. She doesn't even know how she figured out there were guns here.

But there were, and she would have no problem exploiting it as long as she could defend herself and Madoka. With the time stopped, the building didn't look that much different from the outside.

_Alright, this should be more than enough. _Homura's shield was loaded with loaded weapons, with a few things frozen ready for a quick release in the timeless space. Moments like these, as she trudged slowly home, she was very glad that weight did not apply for her. It had been a long day of robbery and running, and her sense of duty sometimes affected her ability to pace herself. Luckily, she had also thought ahead, and stolen enough for a bus home, just in case.

As she dragged herself onto the bus, though, she smiled. She was satisfied with all of her work for that day, and, all the running that had been today would be nothing compared to what she had planned for next weekend. At minimum, thousands of C4 charges. _Yes_, Homura thought, _this is certainly going to be the one_.

The seats were nearly empty on the bus, and Homura sat at the back, checking her phone as it pulled off the lot. It was half past ten, a very suspicious time for a school aged girl to be out. She could only hope not to attract the wrong kind of attention. That would, of course be any kind of attention. She could run, sure. Stop time and never see them again. But her powers were a last resort; better to not have to escape a situation in the first place.

It was with this in mind that Homura would walk home draped into quite a large jacket, found in a thrift store. She had taken a liking to the coat, especially since nights in Mitakihara were so cold. She smiled. Last time, it had been lost in an unfortunate encounter two streets to her right. She didn't live in a dangerous part of town, but miscreants made themselves present everywhere.

And there it was. Home, sweet home. Sunday was going to be a long day, with an awful lot of action and planning to get done. To face it head on, she would need to get at least her full eight hours of rest. At least. Or maybe she would just stare at the cool pendulum for seven hours and sleep for one.

Author here! Chapter 2 will be coming out tomorrow, and I'll be holding to the original two week schedule from now on!


	2. Chapter Two

AN: Chapter 1 was so bad that I'm replacing the whole darn fic. Strap in, we might be having a bit too much fun with these next few chapters.

If you've started on this fic before July 5th, 2020, then please reread chapter one. It's a lot better now!

Homura would be remiss to say that her work was done for the weekend. She had the supplies, but she couldn't just stop at owning some guns, no. Owning guns wouldn't help Madoka, but being able to use them certainly would. That's where the "range" comes in. The windiest hill in Mitakihara, and a few paper targets.

She'd came up with the drills a few timelines ago, and thought they were pretty effective. Dozens of small black cards flitting about, at every practical and impractical distance Homura could imagine. How many could she hit in the few seconds allotted? The brunette was pleased to find out she could hit them all. With time stopped, she began prepping the next bout of cards.

It was a jarring moment for her, when the stopwatch rang. "I'm out of time?" Homura had been there for hours, just shooting. Looking up to see the horizon, the sun was far gone from the middle of the sky the exercise had started at. It was dipping dangerously close to sunset. The air was a lot colder, but she hadn't even felt the change. She'd relaxed far too much, and let her focus be consumed. Dangerous behavior, to let the outside world get so far from your mind.

Begrudgingly, Homura made her way back down the hill, and to her home in the older part of town. It was a bit of a walk, but she didn't mind. Her plans for the day had been completed, or at least the plans that required her to be outside.

The school day passed all according to plan.

"I'm sure there are better ways to solve this!" Kyuubey shouted into Homura's mind as he sprinted away. She didn't bother responding, jumping slightly forward in time to take shots at the fleeing figure. With a yelp, it tripped, and the attack landed, killing the feeble creature immediately. Homura stopped for a moment, and realized where she was. Directly before the door that Madoka would burst through, looking for Kyuubey, with Sayaka not far behind. Maybe fifteen seconds to hide the body?

Homura threw a quick glance around, then scooped the cabbit into her arms and sprinted back in the other direction. Rushing past dozens of unmarked containers, she dumped the body the first place that came to mind. Up and into some exposed vents. Detransforming, she started her way back to the door. By the time she got there, Madoka had already arrived.

"Homura?" The frown cast over the pinkette's face lifted slightly at the sight of someone familiar. "Did you hear it too?" Madoka continued to cast her eyes about as she made her way to the magical girl. "That voice, calling for help? It was coming from down here, but I can't find it."

Before Homura could respond, the door slammed open, and another girl tumbled her way into the room. Shaking the dust from her blue hair, she stood, and shouted. "Madoka!" Clambering over to the pinkette, she continued. "There you are. What are you doing down here?" Sayaka glanced over to the magical girl for a moment, and returned her gaze. "With the transfer student?" Said transfer took a step back as Madoka started talking.

"Sorry for running off, Sayaka. There was a voice," Madoka furrowed her brow. "And it was coming from down here, asking for help!" She turned to look around the room again. "But now that I'm here, I'm not hearing anything anymore. Hey, you heard it too, right?" She quickly turned to Homura with the question. "That's why you're down here?"

Homura nodded slowly. "Yes. There wasn't anything back there," she gestured behind her, where Kyuubey's corpse rested. "So I think it was coming from somewhere up ahead." Homura could already feel that electric chill prickling through her body and running up her spine; she worked to suppress a shiver at the familiar presence. A witch was fast approaching from behind. "Are you coming, Miki?" She was already moving as she spoke, and Madoka was stepping into place not far after. Without time to argue, the bluenette just sighed and started following.

"Listen, Madoka. I don't know what kind of game you and the transfer student are playing, but I'm not sure we're supposed to be down here." Sayaka looked around as she spoke, brow furrowed. "I get a... really bad feeling from this place." She grabbed Madoka's hand. "I don't think there's anything in this room but," throwing a glance at Homura, she continued. "trouble."

Just as the words passed Sayaka's lips, Homura could feel the world that once was, falling away from her. Like a sprung trap, the labyrinth closed in on the girls, fast and sharp. She couldn't see them just yet, but she could tell the familiars were on their way over. "Both of you, get low, and stay behind me." An ink black scissor flew through the air, en route to Sayaka's head. Transforming, Homura let's the attack bounce off the buckler, as the scissors made their way back over to the far off familiar that had thrown it.

"What the hell is going on?" Sayaka spoke for both the wide eyed girls as she covered her head. "Where did you take us?" The walls shifted color and texture, moving wildly from pattern to pattern. From the shifting ground, twisted structures sprouted, and from behind them emerged the witches familiar. Spindly creatures, as black as solid ink, with a cotton ball on their head. Scissors wrapped in thorns sat at the ends of their hands, if they could be called that.

"I can explain later, just keep your heads down." Homura brought up a small barrier around the two, enough to keep them in place, and started towards the familiars. Weaving in and out of time, she moved from cluster to cluster, dropping a bomb at each as she went. Flipping her hair back into place, she regarded her charges. "You... weren't supposed to see this."

Madoka and Sayaka had huddled together in the small space, cowering from the explosions of the short battle. Indignant as always, Sayaka was quick to demand her release, as well as answers. As Homura dropped the barrier, both girls cried out. "On your six!" "Homura, behind you!" Turning around all too slowly, Homura saw a scissor covered in thorns speeding at her through the air. Before she could stop time, it was inches from her face.

She didn't even register the sound of the gunshot, just the sparks that flew as the scissors careened off in a new direction. A magical girl, clad in yellow, had taken the high ground not too far from where Homura was. Launching off a ledge with a flip, Mami landed quietly next to Homura.

Bowing, the blonde girl spoke. "It is in victory that we're most vulnerable. I'm Tomoe Mami. Yourself?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you for your assistance. I'm Akemi Homura." Homura nodded her head quickly in place of a bow. Looking over, she saw Madoka wince for a moment. Before she could move to check for any injuries, she felt it too. Like a spring coiled in her throat had suddenly loosed all its tension, letting her breathe. The walls of the labyrinth faded away, leaving them back in the mall's basement.

"What the..." Sayaka trailed off as she looked around. "This is a dream, right?" She spun around a few times to take in the room. She scrunched her eyes and shook her head, as if she were trying to clear her mind.

"I'm not very sure what's going on," Madoka said. "But you were protecting us, right? Thank you." She gave a bow to the magical girls.

Homura regarded her carefully. Giving a small nod back, she turned to Mami. "It seems like the witch is leaving. I don't think we should let it wander too far." The statement was dry, and she eyed the magical girl almost lazily. "Not somewhere crowded like this, at least."

Mami furrowed her brow for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. Are these girls under your care? I'd hate to put them in harm's way." She gestured to Madoka and Sayaka as she spoke.

"Yes," Homura put simply. "They'll be safest with me."

Mami nodded. "I see." She turned to the other girls. "Hello. My name's Mami. I know this must be really confusing, but could you please stick with us just a bit longer?" She flashed a warm smile as she finished, and stared expectantly.

Madoka looked around for a moment, swinging her head left and right for any sign of the labyrinth. "I-I'm Madoka. Nice to meet you!"

Sayaka cast a wary eye at Mami before she spoke. "I'm Sayaka." Her answer was terse. She stepped a bit closer to Madoka, huffed. The magical girl didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Mami gave a deep bow, aimed at them both. "Nice to meet you! We'll explain as much as we can on the way." She turned around to find Homura already had her soul gem drawn. "Did you-"

"Yes. It seems to have gone that way." Homura gestured in the general direction of the witch. "I'd like to take up the rear." Homura strode behind the two girls. "They will be safe with me."

Mami gave a small nod. "Then let's move." And with that, they set off. The basement was like a wide corridor, with big fire exit doors lining the walls. While Mami led the search, Homura began explaining the situation to Sayaka and Madoka, who were slow to move.

"So you're taking us _to_ the enemy? To protect us?" The blue haired girl shot out a glare as she spoke.

"You're at less risk here than upstairs. This witch could be targeting the whole mall." Lying still didn't come easy to Homura, but she felt this was necessary. She knew where the witch would end up, but an opportunity like this to nip it in the bud, and gain the trust of the girls would be invaluable.

"I'll take your word for it. But if anything happens to Madoka..." Sayaka let the sentence die on her lips, threat unspoken, but ever-present. In theory, at least. The pinkette in question gave a nervous chuckle.

"We're getting close." Homura called out. At the same time, Mami's gem began flashing. The labyrinth was nearby. As the girls advanced, the walls slowly began changing shape, and the roof became too high to fit in any building. The floor shifted with each step they took, and every cell in Homura's body screamed to get out of there. She could see Sayaka was holding Madoka's hands, _tight_.

"Yes, I think we've entered the labyrinth proper," Mami put away her soul gem as she spoke. "But who knows when the witch will move again. We should act fast." With the last word, a rifle fell from her skirt and into her hands, without her missing a step. Homura nodded her agreement.

The labyrinth was, at this early stage, surprisingly straightforward. The familiars simply wandered aimlessly; the mind-bending structures that most magical girls associated with labyrinths were sparse and half built. The areas became more developed though. The closer they moved to the center, where the witch resided, reality became more and more subjective. Small white familiars, the size of a fist floated about, and charged the girls whenever they came near. Larger ones, with rainbowed tails did the same, letting out a bell's war cry as they flung themselves into battle. The black familiars, with cotton balls for heads, would simply watch the girls pass by; sometimes a scissor would fly their way, but fighting didn't seem like their priority. Homura took personal care to repel all attacks aimed at the group. Before anything could fly too close, it met her shield or a small bomb.

It was a short journey to the witch, compared to some labyrinth's that were hours long, and... labyrinthian in design. The arena was clear cut from the rest of the lair. A massive rose garden threw it far from the rest of the area's aesthetic. Lining the rose garden like walls were the small white familiars, with the larger versions woven among their ranks. As one noticed them, it let out a ring, and morphed into a black ball of sorts. It shared the familiar's original size, with spikes coming through it from almost every angle, and from those spikes, other spikes grew. As that familiar transformed, so did the one nearest to it, and the one nearest that.

Like dominoes falling, the familiars had become like an unmoving black fence around the witch, transforming like a rippling pool. The noise of the bells hit the girls like a wall. The witch noticed them at nearly the same time as her minions. It stood as a hulking mass of red and white flesh, with a texture like marble. Its head was a tangled mass of vines, covered by roses, and the legs were spindly, black tendrils. The creature let out a roar that threatened to freeze Homura's blood, and the vines covering its head splayed out in all directions, revealing a black butterfly at its center.

While it was still screaming, Mami laid a shot into its head, and then threw down the gun. "Let's make this quick."

~~~*~~~  
August 1st, lads. Hold me to the date. See you then!  
In the meantime of course, any criticism is welcome as well.


	4. Chapter Four

Mami seemed like she was in a league of her own. Homura made every attempt she could to contribute in the battle against the witch, but didn't find herself with many opportunities to be useful. The best she could do was hold off familiars while the senior magical girl fought. She had set another small barrier around Madoka and Sayaka, which had a drain on her magic that kept her from stopping time as she pleased.

She kept away from the other two girls as she fought, ensuring no familiar would notice them. But that didn't mean her eye was ever far from them; it wasn't an absolute protection. While she was blasting another group of familiars sky high, she noticed a cotton ball creature, quickly shambling its way over to the battle. Directly in its path though, sat Madoka and Sayaka.

Homura was still processing the situation as she ran out, drawing her handgun during her mad dash to the girls. She was laying shots into it, but they did next to nothing so far from their effective range. She kept running, but with every step, it felt like they only got farther away. Homura brought forth her shield, ready to let the world turn gray. Just before she'd spun the gears, a shout rang through the air. Mami's voice, behind her.

"Homura!"

The aforementioned stopped in her tracks, and all too slowly, the girl turned around. A new group of familiars were closing in on one side of the arena. The witch was keeping up the pressure on Mami, and she couldn't do much about them. As Homura stood observing the situation, another noise took her attention.

Madoka screamed, and Homura saw that the familiar had taken notice of them. Sayaka put herself between the pink haired girl and the familiar, and called out for help. The magical girl flicked her head back to see Mami surrounded by vines and familiars. Cursing herself, she set off in a sprint towards the civilians. The familiar waddled fast to its quarry. Scissor already out, it reared back to throw as it saw Homura's approach. With a cringe, she dispelled the barrier.

"I... I couldn't do anything..." Sayaka muttered. She glared down at her cup of tea. Just as bitterly, Homura took a sip. She contemplated apologizing again, but decided that maybe everyone was tired of hearing it. Mami had assured her it was fine. Many, many, times. But Homura just couldn't imagine herself challenging the Walpurgisnacht with 'fine'. Every cut she saw on Mami's outfit, every scar that she knows healed over, proof of her failure.

In truth, Homura had stared at that cup so long because she couldn't make herself look anyone in the eyes. Mami had clarified, on the way to her place: She'd gone to the mall in search of her friend, Kyuubey. She had been so worried about him, because the last she'd heard from him was a cry for help, and then silence. Homura felt guilty, even knowing that what she'd done was necessary. The knowledge that the creature would soon make his appearance did nothing to help her nerves.

Homura took a long drag from her cup, and looked at Sayaka. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Mami interrupted her. "Sayaka, it's okay. You did fine, there's nothing to apologize for." Homura couldn't help but feel like that comment was a bit pointed, and turned back to her cup.

"Yeah, you did great!" Madoka interjected. Her smile was bright, as always. It made Homura feel like everything was okay. As Madoka continued to heap encouragement, the raven-haired girl decided to rethink the phrase she would add in the mix. As she pondered, she felt eyes at her back. Before she could even turn, he introduced himself.

"Hello, Mami!" Hopping down lightly onto the table, he stared down said girl, with a cocked head. "Are these girls your friends?" He swished his tail as he spoke into our minds. His eyes were as cold as ever, and Homura stared at him with growing dread. She was sure that he would let everyone know what she had done. Mami's eyes almost shone as they passed over him, and no sooner was he at the table had she scooped him into her arms.

"Kyuubey! I couldn't find you anywhere. What happened?" He turned around to be able see the rest of us while nuzzled into her arms. His eyes didn't move, but Homura felt like she was fixed in the glassy stare.

"There was a small problem with a witch today. But it seems like you handled it. Nice to meet you, Homura Akemi, Madoka Kaname, Sayaka Miki. I'm Kyuubey." His head remained still as it spoke, and the two girls looked around concerned as his voiced reverberated through their minds. He continued. "This is how I communicate, sorry for doing it so suddenly."

Sayaka perked up at that. "How do you know our names?" She eyed the incubator suspiciously.

Madoka pursed her lips for a moment. "You're Kyuubey? Are you the one that was calling out to me earlier? At the mall?"

As he spoke, Mami started petting his head. "Yes, that was me. I had wanted to talk to you earlier. Madoka, you and your friend have a lot of potential."

"Potential for what?" Sayaka's voice had a challenging edge, and her expression betrayed no trust in the creature.

He hopped out of Mami's arms, and replied simply. "You both have the power to become amazing magical girls."

~*~  
Sorry about that, some family situations got in the way. Next chapter should be coming on the 15th, as planned.


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